A Ben 10,000 Christmas Carol
by Invader-Hime
Summary: Ben 10,000 The Hero of Heroes has lost touch with the goodness of humanity. Thus, he is haunted by three spirits in an attempt to reawaken his sense of goodwill. Slightly AU Fixed Chapter 1!
1. The Hero

A Ben 10,000 Christmas Carol

By Invader-Hime

Chapter 1: The Day Before Christmas

Ben 10,000 rushed past the countless masses of people as XLR8.

He winced.

All of them seemed so mindlessly cheery. They were so oblivious to the world around them it was ridiculous. All their shopping,all their parties...what did it matter in the long run?

Nothing.

A woman on the street waved at him.

"Merry Christmas, Ben 10,000! God speed!" she called out cheerily.

The hero growled under his breathe and sped up.

He arrived back at his headquarters in the blink of an eye.

He deactivated the Omnirix and let out a sigh.

Would this madness never end?

Apparently not.

There was a brisk knock at the door.

Not just any door, either, but the side door which only a select few knew about and thus, meant this visitor had some importance. Ben got up and yanked the door open. He was met with a rather unpleasant sight, at least to him, on the other side.

"Merry Christmas Uncle Ben!"

Devlin. The perpetually smiling purveyor of Christmas cheer. What he had to be cheerful about was quite beyond Ben's understanding. He had always been a slightly skinny boy who was constantly picked on by his peers. He didn't seem to care much, he said his mother had told him it didn't matter what others really thought. What a naive little brat. It was kind of sad, really. The whole world seemed to turn his nose up at him and he didn't do anything but smile up at them wishing them a "Merry Christmas".

Ben didn't hide his disappointment.

"I'm not your Uncle! What are you even doing here?"

Devlin blinked his large blue eyes.

"Great Grandpa invited me. He said I should come ask you over to our house for Christmas,"

The boy seemed to invite himself in, take off his snow covered boots and sit down on the opposite side of the large control panel between them over the course of a single sentence.

"And?" Ben sighed.

"And...Merry Christmas?" Devlin smiled and drummed his fingers absently on the control panel's surface.

"Don't do that!" Ben snapped.

Devlin withdrew his hands and placed them in the front pocket of his hoodie.

"Okay. So...will you come visit us later? It is all Christmassy and stuff. Dad helped me get all of Mom's old Christmas stuff out. Will you come see it?" he asked hopefully.

"You know your father and I don't get along. Why on earth would I want to go to your house after your mother's passing?"

"You didn't come to visit us when Mom was alive either. You can't use that excuse. I'm a kid,but I'm not stupid,"

"Got that from your father did you?"

"He says its from Mom," the boy shrugged.

"I'll bet he does," Ben sighed and attempted to carry on with his business, doing his best to ignore the tiny pest that seemed to always be at his heels. Unable to stand any more, the hero let out an exasperated moan.

"What do you want?"

"To know if you will come see Dad and I later. Great Grandpa is coming. It would mean a lot to me if you came," Devlin smiled an oddly familiar half smile that Ben recognized from years ago.

It was her smile.

That smile on the face of that child sent him into a rage.

"No! No I will not come see you! You little twit! What have you got to be so merry about anyway? Your mother's dead and your father's a hoodlum. You're an outcast at school and from what I understand, you don't have any friends either,"

The child looked stunned at the sudden onslaught. His eyes looked glassy, but he swallowed his tears and managed to face the older man.

"Mom always said to be grateful for what I have,"

"What's that?" Ben snapped.

"Hope. I have hope that the future will be better. That next Christmas will be even merrier than this one. That things will be better,"

He was so unabashedly naive that Ben could stand being in his presence no longer.

"Get out!" he snarled at the child. "Get out and take your silly 'Merry Christmas' with you! It isn't wanted here...and neither are you!"

Devlin just scowled, looking more like his father than ever.

"Fine," he mumbled.

The boy shoved his hands in his pockets moved towards the door.

Upon reaching its frame, he turned around.

"Merry Christmas, Uncle Ben. I hope you have a happy new year,"

He turned and left without another word.

Ben sniffed.

Idiot boy. What did he know about anything?

Ben couldn't believe he once had cared as much. What a fool he must have looked like. Why hadn't he been able to see how miserable the world was? All these fools and their "Merry Christmases" drove him insane.

"Bah!" he spat to himself.


	2. The Ghost of Christmas Past

A Ben 10,000 Christmas Carol

Part 2: The Ghost of Christmas Past

By Invader-Hime

"Hey! Hey you!"

Ben started. He must have fallen asleep. The lights were still off and the sun had set, leaving his headquarters bathed in darkness. However, there was something bright to his left.

"HEY!" came another shout.

That voice...he hadn't heard it in years...it couldn't be...but it was! His eyes shot open and he blinked them several times to be sure. The sight before him was impossible to believe! There was Gwen! Just as she was all those summers ago when they were children together! Her face even wore that impatient impression he knew so well. This little Gwen was dressed in a fancy green dress and had a sprig of holly stuck behind her ear. She tapped her black shoed foot.

"Can you hear me?" she asked.

"Gwen?" he inquired.

The little Gwen sighed and shook her head.

"I am the Ghost of Christmas Past. Your mind has chosen a shadow of the past to be my avatar for the evening," she said softly.

He saw her look him over.

"Take my hand! Quickly now, my time is short,"

Try as he might, the hero couldn't take his eyes off her.

The spirit looked irritated.

"Come ON!" She growled.

"But...but you're dead! You died! You weren't a child either... you had one of your own!" He stammered, quite unsure what to make of his visitor.

The spirit let out an exasperated sigh.

"I know she did. She told me. She sent me here...well, me first, I have two friends on the way. But, anyway, I'm the ghost of Christmas Past...so take my hand already so we can get this show on the road!"

Ben poked the small spirit with his finger.

She promptly slapped it down.

"Hey! Watch it, buddy! Easy on the Jollyplasm!"

"I'm sorry, I just...who did you say you were again?" the dumbfounded man asked again,

"The Ghost of Christmas Past. You've become quite scroogish in the past decade or so. For someone who is considered a hero, you really don't do anything very heroic,"

Ben felt suddenly insulted.

"Hey yourself! I save the planet on a daily basis!"

The spirit's emerald eyes flashed.

"But you have forgotten those most important to you! Can you tell me what your grandfather is doing right now? How about your nephew?"

Ben's expression soured.

"I don't have a nephew," he snarled.

The spirit blinked.

"Ahhhh...I see," she said, looking rather thoughtful.

"What?" he asked, knowing she was puzzling together different aspects of his personal life without asking.

She grabbed his hand.

"Come on! We're going to Christmas Past! I think I know what got so so positively Scroogified in the first place," she whistled.

"Where are yo-OUUUU?" Ben gasped as the little spirit suddenly pulled him upwards, upwards through the floors of his headquarters...and out through the roof.

Together they sailed over the illuminated city, soft, feathery snowflakes floating down around them.

The Spirit of Christmas Past smiled.

"Let's go!"

In the blink of an eye, the city they were flying over changed to Bellwood, but not the Bellwood he knew now...it was the one from his childhood.

"Spirit? What is this?"

"The Christmas of the Past" she said simply, looking pleased with herself.

She brought them down lightly outside of a house he knew very well. He'd spent his entire childhood there, even after they rebuilt it. He could hear the giggles of his past self coming from inside. Even the Rust Bucket was parked out front with a wreath tied to its grill. Everything seemed so...right.

The man and the Spirit looked through the window.

The entire expanded clan of Tennysons were assembled...as well as a few more...colorful guests, friends from across the galaxy. Ben remembered this. It was the first time they had actually celebrated the holiday together. As he looked across the numerous faces, he could recognize some who were no longer with him. The warmth that had been stirring in his heart withdrew. The Spirit noticed and with a wave of her hand, the house dissolved and e found himself standing in front of a familiar snow covered windowsill. It was the future...or rather, the past from twelve years ago. It was his house now. He turned to his right and started.

Kevin was standing on the stoop, frozen breathe eking out of his mouth.

Ben felt the Spirit's hand on his shoulder.

"Don't get excited. These are but shadows of the past. He can neither see nor hear you," she said.

Ben stood up and walked over to the shadow.

"Ben?" the Spirit inquired.

Ben glared at the shadow and stood nose to nose with it.

"I've always hated you! You're a loser and a deadweight! She deserved better than you!"

He smiled to himself as the shadow blew out another misty breathe.

"Yeah. You should feel bad about that," Ben said.

The Spirit slapped her palm against her forehead.

Ben's voice came from inside the house at that moment, angry and terrible. Ben leapt back to the Spirit's side and they looked through the window.

"Will you stop shouting! You're upsetting the baby AND making yourself look like a fool," an older Gwen's voice came from inside.

In another instant, both a slightly younger Ben and a very alive, and obviously pregnant Gwen came into the room.

"I won't be told what to do in my own house! Especially not by you! Especially not now!" the shadow of Ben scolded.

Gwen shook her head.

"If you'd just be reasonable, I'm sure we could all come to an agreement," she said.

"What kind of agreement? The answer is No!" Ben nodded to himself even as he sat by the Spirit's side. The little spirit elbowed him sharply.

"All I did was come over to invite you to the family Christmas party. You haven't told anyone else you're coming," Gwen put her hands on her hips.

"Maybe because it stopped being a 'family' Christmas party! Maybe everything that made it worth getting together and celebrating is long gone!"

"What does that-" Gwen stopped. Her face paled and her hand flew to her abdomen.

The Past Ben raised an eyebrow. Gwen saw it and struggled to regain her composure.

"What is it? What's wrong? Didn't I tell you this was a bad idea?" he sighed.

Gwen frowned, the color returned to her cheeks.

"Nothing's wrong. He...he just felt different for a second. Nothing's wrong. You probably startled him with all your yelling. In any case, the invitation still stands. You can think about it. Merry Christmas, Ben," she managed before allowing herself out.

Before Ben could see where she went, the house in front of them dissolved into another one. The yard was full of illuminated lights.

"Spirit...where are we?" he asked.

"If you had gone, you would of known," The Spirit Said, looking proud of herself.

Ben peered in the window.

There assembled were a majority of the people and aliens from the first Christmas they had visited. So many laughing faces. Everyone seemed so happy. He even caught sight of Gwen's mother rocking a raven haired baby on her knee. Grandpa MAx, Xylene, Myaxx, Azmuth,..Kai? Even Kai and her grandfather were there? They all looked like they were having such a good time. Didn't they know half of them wouldn't be there in five years? But no, he supposed they didn't.

Gwen handed Kai a glass of eggnog.

The dark skinned girl sighed.

"I was hoping Ben would be here," she mumbled.

There was a sudden crash from the other side of the room.

Apparently someone had dropped their glass on the floor and it had shattered.

"Oh my! Gwen...honey? What do I do with him?" Ben heard his Aunt's voice pipe over the commotion.

He turned in her direction and saw that the child in her lap looked positively terrified and had suddenly shifted into a familiar, if somewhat smaller mutation. Gwen laughed.

"He just got scared, Mom. He'll relax in a minute,"

Sure enough, with a little coaxing from his grandmother, the infant seemed to dissolve back into his human coutenance without any effort at all.

Everyone seemed to chuckle at this novelty. Various "awws" hummed about the room.

Ben looked at the Spirit.

"Just what is so cute about that, anyway?"

Ben blinked.

The Spirit was fading.

"Spirit?"

She turned up at him.

"My time with you is over, Benjamin Tennyson. I have shown you the shadows of the past. Now I must take leave of you,"

She smiled and faded into the night.

"Spirit?" Ben asked, but she was already gone.

The hero found himself alone in the snow.


End file.
